State Sen. Phil Griego, D-Santa Fe, resigned before the Senate could censure him for using his office to profit in a shady real estate deal. If he is not convicted of a felony — and neither the DA nor the AG have moved to prosecute — he will receive an $18,000 annual legislative pension for the rest of his life.

One Pennsylvania legislator is taking a third swing at increasing transparency about lawmakers’ work, incomes and possible conflicts. “We’re at the bottom of the barrel right now,” in terms of how much citizens trust government, State Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Allegheny, told Watchdog.org. “We’re down there with the attorneys,” he jokingly added.

Will a push to slow campaign corruption in Nebraska come up short and put a largely “toothless” bill on the books?
That’s the fear of those backing the latest effort to shine more light on campaign contributions and stop scandals before they start.

When it comes to cracking down on campaign cash schemes Nebraska’s experts on election ethics agree on at least one thing: A move to stop the type of trickery which allowed former State Sen. Brenda Council to misuse—gamble—$63,000 in campaign contributions can’t come soon enough.